Hello, our baby girl is due in just a few days. We have it narrowed down to [name_f]Natalie[/name_f] or [name_f]Natalia[/name_f]. Surname is Orellano and middle name will be [name_f]Giselle[/name_f] so it would be either
We are a cross-cultural family. I am white American and my husband is of Spanish heritage and we live in the U.S.A. We have the surname and heritage to go well with “[name_f]Natalia[/name_f]”, but my here are my doubts about [name_f]Natalia[/name_f]…
Pronunciation: I wonder if people would get confused with between the Russian pronunciation “[name_f]Natalya[/name_f]” and the spanish one “NaTALeeuh” which is what we prefer. I definitely don’t like the pronunciation “[name_f]Natalya[/name_f]”
Shortening to Nicknames… “[name_f]Natalia[/name_f]” is longer than “[name_f]Natalie[/name_f]” which I think people would want to shorten more than “[name_f]Natalie[/name_f]” and I do not like nicknames. I know lot of 3 syllable names that don’t get shortened but most 4 syllable names I can think of do get shortened. “[name_f]Natalie[/name_f]” seems like it may be easier and more comfortable for Americans to say.
“[name_f]Natalia[/name_f]” is a little more unique and exotic than [name_f]Natalie[/name_f], but “[name_f]Natalie[/name_f]” may better avoid undesired nicknames and pronunciations. Someone mentioned to me that “[name_f]Natalia[/name_f]” sounds like a lot of extra.
I’ve also thought of the idea of using “[name_f]Natalia[/name_f]” as a formal name on the birth certificate and using [name_f]Natalie[/name_f] as a nn, but is it worth it if we would call her [name_f]Natalie[/name_f] anyway?
Would love opinions and advice! Thanks so much in advance!
I think I prefer [name_f]Natalia[/name_f], there are more nickname options ([name_u]Nat[/name_u], [name_m]Natty[/name_m], [name_f]Talia[/name_f], [name_f]Lia[/name_f]…) and it’s less common that [name_f]Natalie[/name_f]. [name_f]Natalia[/name_f] [name_f]Giselle[/name_f] is gorgeous!
I prefer [name_f]Natalia[/name_f]. I actually think [name_f]Natalie[/name_f] gets shortened more, automatically to [name_u]Nat[/name_u], where [name_f]Natalia[/name_f] is more nuh-tal-ee-uh do the [name_u]Nat[/name_u] sound isn’t there. I don’t think people would automatically call a [name_f]Natalia[/name_f] [name_f]Talia[/name_f]
What about pronunciation issues? I really don’t like the Russian pronunciation “[name_f]Natalya[/name_f]”. Would people automatically go to this pronunciation in the U.S.A.? I would want it pronounced the Italian/Spanish way: “NuhTALeeuh”. Would I constantly be correcting people?
It sounds like [name_f]Natalie[/name_f] would cause you less aggravation and it is a very pretty name that usually doesn’t result in nicknames. I wasn’t aware there was an alternative to the [name_m]Natal[/name_m]-ya pronunciation and I suspect if you corrected me I still might not even realize I was pronouncing it differently than you prefer. To my ear there isn’t a big difference between the two pronunciations and I fear I would use them interchangeably without even realizing it.
Thanks for the honest feedback. That’s what I was wanting to know. I have lived in spanish speaking countries so I can definitely hear the difference between the pronunciation of “[name_m]Natal[/name_m]-yuh” and “[name_u]Nata[/name_u]-leeuh” but I suspect you may be right that lots of Americans might not notice the difference. I’ve noticed that Americans do the same thing with similar ending names like [name_f]Cecilia[/name_f]…pronouncing it Ceceel-yuh as opposed to Cecee-leeuh.
I’m a bit confused about the difference between [name_f]Natalia[/name_f] and [name_f]Natalya[/name_f], but either way, I think I’m saying [name_f]Natalia[/name_f] how you intend? Then again, there’s a large Hispanic population here, so maybe that’s just more popular than a Russian pronunciation I’m not familiar with…
I personally have a penchant for [name_f]Natalie[/name_f], but it could be because my sister is [name_f]Natalie[/name_f], and I think she’s pretty great. I call her [name_f]Natalia[/name_f] sometimes, for what it’s worth. Also [name_f]Lia[/name_f] and [name_u]Tallie[/name_u], although almost exclusively [name_u]Tallie[/name_u] these days. However, I don’t know that I’ve heard a nn for any of the Natalias I’ve met? One went by [name_f]Nati[/name_f] occasionally, but I think Americans are more predisposed to try to call a [name_f]Natalie[/name_f] “[name_u]Nat[/name_u]” or even “[name_f]Ally[/name_f]” (which one of my friends did), and [name_f]Natalia[/name_f] is more often just [name_f]Natalia[/name_f]?
(For what it’s worth, I think [name_f]Natalie[/name_f] [name_f]Giselle[/name_f] sounds better than [name_f]Natalia[/name_f] [name_f]Giselle[/name_f], too…)
I pronounce it a combination of the two - nuh-[name_m]TAH[/name_m]-lee-uh. (I’m from the Northeast US without Spanish or Russian heritage.)
Personally, [name_f]Natalie[/name_f] is a fine name, and you seem to like it better, so I’d go for that. Also, if you’re not in a Spanish-speaking area, you might get a mix-up on your last name (is it “o-ray-ah-no” or “or-ell-ah-no”), so sticking with the simpler-to-pronounce [name_f]Natalie[/name_f] might be better.
Ok, so on paper I like the look of [name_f]Natalia[/name_f] [name_f]Giselle[/name_f] better than [name_f]Natalie[/name_f] [name_f]Giselle[/name_f] but I am thinking of the implications of its everyday use. I mentioned that I don’t like the way about half of Americans seem to pronounce [name_f]Natalia[/name_f] “Na [name_u]TAL[/name_u]-yuh”. Getting everyone to say “[name_m]NaTAL[/name_m]-ee-uh” may be problematic and I don’t really like nicknames like [name_f]Talia[/name_f], etc. So what do you think of putting [name_f]Natalia[/name_f] [name_f]Giselle[/name_f] on the birth certificate and using “[name_f]Natalie[/name_f]” as a nickname? Is this worth it? (I read that [name_f]Natalie[/name_f] [name_m]Wood[/name_m]'s real name was actually [name_f]Natalia[/name_f] but she went by [name_f]Natalie[/name_f])
I call her [name_f]Natalia[/name_f] sometimes, for what it’s worth. Also [name_f]Lia[/name_f] and [name_u]Tallie[/name_u], although almost exclusively [name_u]Tallie[/name_u] these days. However, I don’t know that I’ve heard a nn for any of the Natalias I’ve met? One went by [name_f]Nati[/name_f] occasionally, but I think Americans are more predisposed to try to call a [name_f]Natalie[/name_f] “[name_u]Nat[/name_u]” or even “[name_f]Ally[/name_f]” (which one of my friends did), and [name_f]Natalia[/name_f] is more often just [name_f]Natalia[/name_f]?